


Underneath Our Masks

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Autistic Stephen Strange, Bisexual Peter Parker, De aged Stephen strange, F/M, First fic pls don’t kill me, Gay Bucky Barnes, Gay Steve Rogers, Genderfluid Loki, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Narcoleptic Stephen Strange, Other, Panic Attacks, Pansexual Stephen Strange, Stephen Strange centered, Stephen Strange’s Dad’s A+ parenting, Trans Peter Parker, Vitiligo! Stephen Strange, fluff that will rot your teeth, genderfluid Stephen strange, pan tony stark, trama, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-05 05:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19042288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In an battle between the avengers and a group of rogue sorcerers, Dr. Strange ends up intercepting a hit meant for Tony Stark. Much to the Avengers surprise, instead of finding Dr. Strange, they find a scared 7 year old boy who claims to be Stephen Strange.(Mental De age too)





	1. Chapter 1

~~~~In all honesty, the whole battle was chaotic. Debris lay everywhere and the only sounds you could hear was the sounds of screams and battle as well as the colorful cursing from Clint. Tony was definitely distracted considering he was trying not to get blasted by some unknown magic, god how he missed the days where it was just fists or weapons. He must have been too distracted because next thing he knew Strange shouted something at him and he was being shoved aside. Before he could demand why he was pushed another force knocked him back again as well as the other avengers and a blinding white light seared into his vision.

 

ヾ(｀・ω・´)ノ

 

Tony groaned as he slowly sat up, every muscle in his body ached tremendously. He did a quick survey of everyone around him: The sorcerers were out, everyone else was slowly getting up with groans, Banner was gone probably to calm down, and Thor just stood there staring at something in front of him. Tony followed to where he was staring and ended up having to blink a couple times to make sure what he was seeing wasn’t a hallucination. There in front of him stood a very skinny boy: the boy had fluffy unruly salt and pepper hair, big striking blue eyes, he was wearing a reminiscent of Stranges clothes except instead of baggy pants and long robes the boy was wearing shorts that came down to mid thigh and instead of a long sleeved undershirt he had a short sleeved one, Tony noticed he had vitiligo the same porcelain skin Strange had mixed with a tan. Then it struck Tony:

”Holy Shit.” 

“Language” Cap muttered out of habit till he also saw the boy “What the fuck?”

The boy looked alarmed and before anyone could get a word in big fat tears fell down his face. The Avengers sat dumbfounded as the boy spoke in a meek voice:

” E-excuse me but where is my mother? Who a-are you?”

Tony was about to answer till Nat walked up to the boy and kneeled down to his level, she gently wiped the tears off his face.

”We’re friends of your mother, I’m Natasha. You are?” She said gently, the boy seemed to relax.

”I’m Stephen. Stephen Strange. “ The world seemed to stop at that one sentence. Regaining his composure for the sake of not freaking this kid out, Tony stood up and replied:

”Well i’d say introductions are in order so I’m Tony, the guy with the hammer is Thor, the one who looks like the goddamn American flag is Steve, and the one with the bow and arrows is Clint.” The boy- no Stephen only nodded.

” Uh I think we should head back to the tower it’s safer there.” It was obvious that Clint’s parental instincts were exploding inside his head.

”Yes that is a wise decision!” Thor agreed loudly.

“Do I seriously look like the American flag?” Steve asked self consciously, everyone just glared at him. Nat gave her hand to Stephen, reluctantly he took it but he still looked nervous. Nat and Strange walked ahead which gave the other avengers time to discuss what the hell had just happened.

”Ok. What the fuck? And don’t you dare say language Steve or I swear to god I’ll blast ya.” Tony started.

”I think it might have been that weird magic blast that hit him when he pushed you.” Clint explained in a very Clint manner. He made weird gestures as he talked.

“No shit Sherlock” Tony replied.

”How are we gonna fix this?” Steve asked considering he had just gotten used to the modern world, magic was too much to wrap his head around, originally he was planning on taking it slow but he guessed that wasn’t an option anymore.

”I shall consult my brother, Loki.” Thor added helpfully as well as cheerfully obviously not seeing the annoyed expressions from the other three.

”Lets talk about this later when we have Nat and Bruce.” Tony decided and the others agreed.

 

（σ｀・∀・´）σ

 

Back at the tower, Nat had gotten there before the other four so when they walked in she was already showered and in casual wear: A baggy hoodie that belonged to one of them and grey sweatpants. 

“Before we talk I suggest you guys get settled.” Nat spoke as she sipped on a glass of water. The four only sighed, except Thor who always looked cheerful, and walked off to their respected rooms. Nat sat down on the plush couch still pondering on what had just occurred. She knew it was magic but what was unfortunate was the fact that they had gotten their sorcerer. Although, she wouldn’t mind having Loki over they always had fun even if neither of them would admit it. The others were still wary around him but she couldn’t see the problem he was simply misunderstood. 

“Hey Nat! Where is everyone else?” A voice spoke. Nat whipped around to see Bruce, she sighed heavily.

”Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.” Bruce apologized.

”It’s fine I was lost in my thoughts anyways.” Nat replied, Bruce looked a tad surprised considering the red head was always alert and hardly ever lost in her thoughts. 

“That can’t be good, what happened?” He asked cautiously.

”I’ll tell you when the others arrive.” As if on cue all four of them walked in freshly showered and in t-shirts and sweats.

”Uhh where’s Strange? Did he go home?” Bruce asked nervously. They all just looked at him.

”Oh this can’t be good.” Bruce decided.

The avengers explained it to Bruce who listened intently. At first they all started talking at once causing Bruce to panic which ended up with a big mess till Thor politely,as he claims, told them to shut up.

”Wow, so where is he now?” Bruce asked after taking it all in.

”I took him to one of the guest rooms and told him to get some sleep because it had been a long day but somehow I don’t think he’s sleeping.” Nat answered.

”Would you sleep after waking up in the middle of a battle field not knowing where you were? I know I wouldn’t.” Steve supplied and the others only nodded.

”We should get Loki considering our Earth sorcerer is out of commission.” Bruce concluded. Thor agreed cheerfully along with Nat but the others only grunted.

”Did any of you guys noticed how he was shaking like a leaf?” Clint asked grimly.

”Well I mean he did just appear in the middle of god knows where so he was probably scared.” Tony said as he popped a blueberry in his mouth but Clint didn’t look like he agreed and yet he said nothing. The group just sat in silence not knowing what to say. Suddenly, the door slammed open causing every avenger to flinch into battle mode.

”Hey Mr. Stark! How was- woah what’s wrong?” Peter asked as he came flying through the door with Shuri not far behind. The Avengers sighed.

”What’s wrong with them?” Shuri asked and Peter just shrugged.

”Jesus kid you scared us.” Tony groaned as Peter and Shuri looked delighted at the fact they scared them.

”Hey Mr. Stark where’s Dr. Strange? He said he was gonna help me on my biology quiz?” Peter chirped

”Yeah! And he said he was gonna show me magic!” Shuri exclaimed excitedly. The avengers just sighed heavily causing the kids faces to dampen.

”I-is something wrong? Is Dr. Strange hurt?!” Peter rambled off worryingly.

”Kid he’s fine he just happened to get into a situation involving magic and well...” Tony trailed off awkwardly. God how should he word this? 

“He got turned into a kid.” Nat said bluntly. Everyone just looked at her.

”What? I couldn’t keep it from them they live here. They would of seen him sooner or later.”

”She’s gotta point.”

”Shut up Katniss.”

Both teenagers squealed excitedly. Their sparkling eyes darted to Tony.

”Can we see him!!??” They shouted in unison. Tony began to sweat, what should he say? Goddamnit he can’t say no to these kids!! Thankfully Steve came to his rescue:

”He’s had a long day so maybe later.” The teenagers seemed disappointed but nodded and walked off to their rooms. Tony sighed for like the 50th time today.

”Farewell my friends! I must go to Asgard to bring my brother.” Thor said excitedly wasting no time as he stalked off to the roof where he could call for Heimdall. God today was really a long day all Tony wanted to do was crash and sleep for a hundred years too bad he wasn’t Odin.


	2. How the fuck do I parent (rewritten)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen has a bit of trouble trusting these new found friends and why are there orange sparks coming from his hands??

Stephen wanted to admit he was ok but in all honesty he was freaking the fuck out. It had only been 30 minutes since Miss Natasha had brought him the strange teched up tower and he was already having a mental breakdown. He had so many questions: Where was he? Where is his mother? Did she really know these crazy people? Was that man really the embodiment of the American flag? Was he in the future? He head began to ache, softly he clutched his head wishing for it to go away. Slowly but surely the headache subsided. Huh, that was odd that had never happened before. Stephen looked at his hand only to notice it was glowing orange, he also noticed at the fact he was floating several feet from his bed. How did he do this? He also noticed his body emitted the same orange glow. Interesting...

”THE FUCK!!??” A voice screamed from the door way. Stephen looked to see Mr. Stark and the others tumble into his room.

”I-I’m sorry Mr. Stark but I really don’t know how I’m doing this!!!” Stephen rambled hoping Mr. Stark wouldn’t get mad.

”Holy shit what happened? Why is the kid floating?!!” Mr. Clint exclaimed. The group rambled off at each other nervously. This really wasn’t the time though, they weren’t the ones about to fall to their impending doom. He really wanted this to stop!! The orange glow faded from his body and he realized what was about to happen. He screeched as he plummeted towards the cold quartz.

”I GOTCHA!” A young boys shouted reassuringly as Stephen was caught in mid air with an ‘oof’. The blood rushed to his head he swore he could feel his head pulsating. Gently, he was put down and the group let out the biggest sigh of the century. Stephen looked up to see who had saved him, a teenager had: unruly brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a smile that could light up a galaxy. A dark skinned girl ran over and gushed over the boy:

”That was so cool!! I got so much inspiration for new technology!!” 

“O-oh glad I could help! Um are you ok?” The boy asked worried, why would he be worried it was his fault after all. Stephen pushed himself off the quartz ground and regained his composure then turning on a calm facade.

”I’m quite alright, thank you for saving me.” Stephen said in the most proper voice he could muster, the boy looked uncomfortable by it which puzzled Stephen.

”Why do you talk so proper magic boy?” The girl asked impolitely. The boy sputtered:

”You can’t say stuff like that Shuri!! Uh sorry bout that I’m Peter Parker, you are?”

”I’m Stephen, Stephen Strange.”

”and I’m Shuri!” The girl- Shuri exploded into giggles these two people were too cheery for Stephen why would anyone be cheery around him?

”Now that you’re aquatinted who’s hungry?” Mr. Steve said uneasily. The others agreed to a meal while the two teens cheered but Stephen had one question for the man.

”Sir if I may ask a question?”

”Yes? And you don’t need to call me sir.”

”Are you really the embodiment of the American Flag?” Mr. Steve sputtered face going red as the others laughed loudly. Why were they laughing it was a legitimate question after all Mr. Tony had said he looked like the American Flag and this man looked like a typical American.

”Uh no”

”He totally is.”

”definitely”

”Clint! Natasha! Quit confusing the kid!” Stephen looked at them quizzically. He truly did not understand these people although he was not known for his communication skills so maybe that’s why. Without questioning he followed the optimistic group down the confusing halls he passed through earlier. He felt a tap on his shoulder and it took all his self control not to flinch, he turned.

”So Stephen how old are you?” A man with glasses and curly brown hair asked obviously trying to make conversation but Stephen wasn’t really good at conversation. Stephen raised an eyebrow, who is he?

”7, I’m sorry sir but who are you?” He bit his tongue for sounding rude.

”Oh sorry! I’m Bruce.” The man said sheepishly obviously embarrassed that he hadn’t introduced himself. Stephen didn’t see why the man was embarrassed after all it was his fault for not asking. Stephen took a sharp breath wishing he wore the shoes he had on earlier that day the cold quartz annoyed his sensitive feet and the tower was too cold. He shouldn’t be complaining men don’t complain and they don’t cry either. He thought back to this morning oh how ashamed he felt, crying in front of all those people. He felt a nudge on his shoulder instantly his flinched violently he was so lost in thought that he hadn’t kept his guard up _stupidstupidstupid._

 _”_ Are you ok magic boy?” Shuri asked as Peter looked at him with worry in his eyes.  ** _He isn’t worried about you he’s pitying you, you’re nothing but a weakling how pathetic._** The voice whispered like venom coursing through his veins. Stephen shot an uneasy fake smile.

”I’m fine Mr. Peter.” He said bluntly and walked a little faster wanting to avoid any lingering questions from the two. He hoped his mother would pick him up soon.

⋋_⋌

The Avengers funneled into the kitchen along with the extras. Tony couldn’t help but worry, Stephens reaction from this morning had changed drastically from the one now. In his gut he could feel that something was wrong. Admittedly, he always imagined Strange as this straight laced, egotistical, no fun boy but this? This just felt wrong, it was like he was a robot. Emotion void from his eyes, those big emotive blue eyes he saw this morning was now blank and dull, god he evened moved like a robot. The others must of picked up on it too because they all shared uneasy glances. This felt like Tony was being introduced to a persons parents, which is the definition of AWKWARD!!! Tony withheld a sigh.

”What do you guys want to eat?” Nat asked holding a phone. Everyone looked grateful at the fact she broke the awkward uneasy silence.

”Pizza!!” Shuri and Peter said in union.

”Hold up! Stephen are there any allergies we should know about so we don’t accidentally kill ya?” Clint asked, tony couldn’t help but notice the flash of confusion in the boys eyes.

”... no allergies sir.” He said properly but it didn’t fit a 7 year old at all.

”Ok! Nat order away!” Tony said cheerfully trying to get everyone in the mood. They must of got the hint because soon everyone was chatting except Stephen, he just stared off into space which worried Tony. A loud voice interrupted his thoughts:

”Friends! For I have returned with Loki!” Thor walked into the room followed by Loki who gave a small uncharacteristic smile. It was probably to make Stephen relax considering Thor told them Loki was actually fantastic with children. Loki made a beeline to Stephen.

”Greetings you are Stephen correct?”

”Yes sir”

”No need to call me sir, Call me Loki I don’t mind.”

”Ok... Loki.” That sounded extremely forced if Tony was being honest.

”Hey reindeer games! Want pizza?” Tony asked but he already knew the answer.

”No thank you.” He sat next to Stephen and began chatting although it looked like he was doing most of the talking Stephen just seemed to listen. Tony never thought he would say this but he hoped Loki would be able to bring Stephen out of his robot like trance.

Σ(ノ°▽°)ノ

 

If Loki was being honest ,and that was pretty rare, this boy is incredibly hard to read he has no emotion whatsoever. Although, he has an extremely strong magical force he could practically smell it as soon as he reached earth. It was pretty rare for someone to be de aged and still obtain the ability that they weren’t even born with which added to all the more reason for Loki to converse with this boy even if he wasn’t say much and when He says not much he really means not much. This boy was full of one worded answers, hel a snake would make a better conversationalist! But Loki kept his patience he had to if he wanted to keep speaking to this boy something told him not to make the boy angry because most likely the boy would lose control.

”Loki I hear you’re a god.” He speaks!

”Yes, I’m the God of Mischief” Loki prided himself in that title.

”I also hear you can perform magic?” The boys eyes finally lit with curiosity and Loki had to admit, the way they sparkled was far more beautiful than what he had seen before, now these eyes could light up the void these were the eyes of a human. Loki chuckled, holding out his hands he let vibrant green light dance around his fingers. The boy let out a gasp of wonder and excitement. He could feel the happiness but also the jealousy from the avengers for being able to make this boy smile even if it was the smallest of smiles it was a smile. Loki smirked as he let the green light shoot up and create tiny fireworks. The boy looked adorable the way his eyes were wide and his mouth slightly hung open. He looked as if the whole world washed away and it was just him and the fireworks.

”Loki, sir, I do believe I have magic. I don’t know how but-“ Loki interrupted:

”You do have magic Stephen I could smell it off you as soon as I entered the Earth, I must tell you that it’s extremely powerful.” He could see the boys gears working inside his head, oh how Loki missed interacting with children they were so much more entertaining.

”But why is it showing up now? How did this happen?” Damn, he was really hoping the boy wasn’t smart enough to ask smart questions. Thankfully the others saw his peril:

”Foods here!” Clint practically screeched. Loki could help but notice how the boy flinched slightly. He wouldn’t admit this to anyone or so help him god but he felt tings of worry starting to churn in his stomach. What had happened to this pure child to flinch at so much as a loud noise?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I really wanted to rewrite this


	3. Magic and shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers become increasingly worried at how Stephen is acting.

The eating had commenced, at this point it had become a routine especially since Steve had worried about everyone’s health. He could not stress enough on how important it was to take care of yourself. He will admit that Tony took the longest to convince but at the moment that’s not what worried him: as everyone ate and chatted Stephen just seemed to sit there. Back straight, eyes forward, and not touching the pizza at all. It was unnerving and seriously worrying in all honesty Stephen reminded Steve of a brainless soldier, only doing things if someone permitted him basically having no mind of his own. Nat must of noticed because she said:

”Stephen why aren’t you eating? Do you not like it? If so I can-“

”I’m sorry Miss Natasha! Please don’t get mad I didn’t know I was allowed to eat...” Stephen trailer off nervously, Steve could tell that he bit down on his lip considering a small stream of scarlet red trailed down his small lip. Steve hurried to compensate for the boys fear.

”Stephen it’s alright, you really don’t need permission to eat. Eat when you’re hungry or when you want to we really don’t care.” The boy looked at him cautiously as if he was trying to see if Steve was lying. Steve really didn’t like how this was heading. 

 **“Liar.”** a small harsh word slipped out of Stephens mouth. It must of been an accident because next thing Steve knew Stephen started stuttering out apologies, tears threatening to fall out.

”Hey _dorogoy_ it’s okay nobodies mad at you.” Nat said soothingly.

”Y-you sure?” Stephen stuttered.

”Of course young Stephen!” Thor bellowed and Loki just smiled and nodded.

”That was cool! For a sec your face went all dark.” Peter cheerfully chirped and Shuri just went off on technology, probably a nervous habit. _God why does he make everything awkward?_

 

d( ･ω´･+)

 

Peter didn’t know how to talk to this kid, sure it was Dr. Strange but Dr. Strange wasn’t exactly Dr. Strange at the moment!!! Peter pleadingly looked a Shuri but she was too consumed in technology or something... Peter just smiled but for some reason Stephen didn’t converse well and Peter didn’t know why. Is he scared? Or maybe he just doesn’t like peter? Hey when is that new Science article coming out? Wait he’s getting off topic...

”Hey! kiddo did ja take your meds?” Mr. Stark called. Huh how did he know?

”Nope I’ll do that now Mr. Stark!” Peter rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a pill bottle. Peter noticed Stephen eyeing the bottle.

”It’s for ADHD.” Peter blurted out and Stephen looked alarmed at the fact Peter noticed he was staring. 

“Uh it’s ok I don’t mind.” Peter tried to assure him but Stephen only nodded. Huh he looked sleepy...

”Hey spider boy...”

 

⁞ つ: •̀ ⌂ •́ : ⁞つ

 

Bucky was tired as hell, the mission he embarked on a week ago really took it out of him but hey at least he got it done. Sighing, he made it up the tower the only thing that had stopped him from passing out was the fact he was gonna see Steve. Bucky smiled at bit at the thought of Steve he couldn’t wait to walk in and just hug him or kiss him. Whichever would be good he just wanted to see Steve. Bucky swung open the fort at the thought of Steve, he peered in. It was nothing out of the ordinary just another Avengers gathering with Shuri and Peter but what was out of the ordinary was the small boy sitting next to Loki. He was definitely not there before.

”Hey punk.” Bucky said immediately draping himself on Steve, steve only chuckled. God how Bucky missed his scent, his feel...

”Hey keep it G please.” Clint shouted from the couch, Bucky grunted back in reply basically a way to say “Duly noted”

”Hey Bucky how are you doing?” Steve spoke in that gentle tone of his, Bucky smiled.

”Good darling, by the way whose the kid?” Bucky asked as he pointed at the kid who flinched a slight bit. Huh maybe he shouldn’t point at people.

”Bucky it’s rude to point at people.” Bingo “and that’s Stephen Strange.” Wait as in wizard dude?

”Stephen strange?”

”Yeah I’ll explain it later.” Bucky sighed but accepted the answer. 

“Um Stephen?” Loki asked in a tone the avengers never heard before. They looked to see that the boy had fallen asleep and was now leaning of Loki’s shoulder.

”It seems he likes you brother!”

”Thor please don’t talk about the kid like he’s some animal.” Tony said but his words did not match his amused tone. Loki’s eyes glowed green which Bucky still found pretty cool.

”Hmm, May I ask what narcolepsy is?”

”Oh! it’s when people randomly fall asleep.” Clint shouted.

”In a sense... yeah.” Bruce agreed. Loki’s face scrunched up:

”You should really check the health of your children because I doubt he will tell the truth if you ask him.” Bruce only chuckled sheepishly.

”Woah how did you do that?!” Shuri exclaimed Loki only looked at her then at Peters excited face “You must have magic!” Shuri shouted.

”really? I didn’t know.”

”That was sarcasm. I recognized it.” Steve said proudly and quite seriously. The teenagers only laughed. 

“Can we watch Disney please?” Clint asked.

”what is Disney?” Steve looked delighted at the fact he knew something someone else didn’t which added to Loki’s confusion.

”Brother you’d love it! It’s this most fantastic thing!” Thor said cheerfully as ever. 

“What do we do with the kid?” Bucky asked them before they dispersed into the Avenger sleeping pile. The all eyed Stephen who was sleeping soundly.

”I suggest you’d let him sleep it’s been a long day.” Nat said as she picked him up “wow she’s way too light.” Everyone didn’t like that comment.

”Well it’s up to us to make him feel welcomed and take care of himself!” Shuri declared. Peter had a solemn face they had never seen on him.

”Now that I think about it doesn’t his adult self look a bit too skinny.” Everyone went silent.

”Way to kill the mood spider boy.”

”Sorry!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pride! I’m a proud Agender Bisexual!! Sorry for the short chapters I’m used to writing about my own characters. There’s art I drew for this on my tumbler smollbeanarts


	4. Shitty nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen has some awful nightmares, cue Loki!

**“You’re _nothing.”_**

**_“You’re nothing.”_ **

**_“You’re nothing but disappointment, you’re a mistake, you bring nothing but sorrow. Why are you like that?”_ **

**_“Answer me child.”_ **

**_“Why do you enjoy wasting space?”_ **

**_”Why do you enjoy making me miserable?”_ **

_”I- I’m sorry...”_

_**”Disgusting.”** _

_ “P-Please f-father I beg of you...” You’re getting hit over and over again. You beg for it to stop but all  **He** does is laugh. Your mother does nothing but stand by, you don’t blame her it’s not her fault anyways it’s yours, it’s yours for being born, it’s yours for being weak, being a  **bastard child** _

_whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy_

_helpmehelpmehelpmehelpmehelpme_

_ You cry which makes  **Him** laugh harder, he calls  you pathetic.  **He’s right.** You wanna ask your mother why did she have you so you do. You get hit again for being insensitive for being rude you try to convince yourself that you’re a child that you didn’t know any better.  _

_ **You know it’s a lie.** _

_ Stopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop  _

_ They die, they all die and next thing you know you have a new family but they’re not any better. They ask why you’re so **selfish,** you  promise you’re not. **Lies. What is wrong with you? You bastard child, all you do is take. You’re nothing but waste.** _

_ you claim it’s all lies but you know it’s not. Then your new father holds you by the neck _

_ ever _

_ so _

_ **tightly.** _

****。ﾟ(ﾟﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

 

Stephen wakes up with a heavy gasp, cold sweat slicked against his skin. Where is he? Ah right the future tower. Groggily, Stephen pushes himself up to find the weird clothes ,or robes? Sticking to him. Scrunching his face in disgust and discomfort, he goes to look for some new clothes but doubting they would set any for him. In all honesty, a shower would be nice but he just doesn’t have that kinda luck with strangers or with anyone for that matter. Much to his surprise, he finds that his room has a bathroom and some clothes are set out with a note.

_”I thought you probably wouldn’t want to stay in the same clothes” - Natasha_   


How thoughtful. The cold tile of the bathroom made him hiss god would it kill the rich guy to get some non cold floors?! Stripping of his sweaty clothes Stephen takes extra care to avoid the mirror, he hates the way he looks. He’s ugly and deformed and just goddamn disgusting... at least that’s what his father told him and he believed every word. 

The hot shower felt nice against his skin much better than the cold. Stephen wishes he could stay in here forever but he knows the new people would drag him out and the guy who owns this will probably get mad when he gets his water bill or he’ll get the stay in here but then he’d be forced to think because a shower makes it easy to think deeply and if he thought deeply he’d end up coming out so... lose lose. Ok maybe that’s enough thinking. Stephen let the water wash over him, letting his worries spiral down into the drain. He washed his body hoping it would scrub off all his sins and all his scars. He let the water hide his tears and the sound of the water hide his sobs, god how he wished that he he could just disappear... **_forever._**

 

****（ >﹏<）

 

Loki honestly didn’t know how these midgardians slept through all these sounds and disturbances. All he could hear was the soft whirling of machines, the rushing water, the quiet sobbing- wait sobbing? Loki sat up eyeing his room to make sure there weren’t any weeping spirits in his midst, but there weren’t so who was crying? Before he knew it he was walking around the halls and following the sound, then it stopped and so did the rushing water. Somebody must have been crying in the shower but who? Was it Stark? Cause he read that man to be pretty depressed. Loki finally stopped at a door and when he read whose name tag was on it his heart ached. 

_“Stephen”_

Quietly, he knocked. The door creaked open a minute later Loki looked down to see a small boys face peering through the crack, his breath withheld when he saw the rough tear tracks.

”Am I in trouble sir?” God how he hated that obedient voice no child should have such a voice. Loki breathed:

”No dear Stephen, remember you don’t have to address me as ‘sir’ you have permission to address me as Loki.” The boy only nodded.

”I’m here because I could of sworn I heard crying-“ The boy visibly stiffened, damn change the topic! “But never mind that I’m sure it was my imagination, instead would you like to converse about magic some more?” Stephen looked straight into his eyes for the first time and Loki has to admit each time he saw those sparkling blue eyes he was speechless.

”Yes please if you don’t mind...”

”Not at all.” Promptly, the boy let him into his quarters. Loki really hoped the boy would continue this trustful for the rest of the night but he already knew the key to get him to open up: magic.

”What do you wish to know?” Loki asked as he sat down on the bed. Stephen shyly sat next to him:

”How would you explain your magic?”

”My magic?”

”Yes “

”Well, my magic is my life force. The very thing that keeps me from withering away into nothing. It is apart of me, a beautiful part I suppose. It is what makes me, me if you understand what I mean. Also, it is very dear to me because it connects me to my mother, a very kind woman she was.” 

“Where is she now?”

”Hmm, she pasted a bit ago I only hope she is now part of the stars, the galaxies, the universe. I hope she still watches me and I hope I still make her proud.” He didn’t mean to say the last bit but I just slipped out. Stephen just smiled in understanding, _he smiled._ Norns how breathtaking Loki found that smile.

”My mother lies in the heavens too, she was very dear to me despite the things she had done... well I guess it’s more of what she hadn’t done.” Stephen looked to the sky’s all starry eyed and Loki could of sworn his heart combusted.

”What else would you wish to know?” Loki prompted and by the norns how he wished he didn’t ask that question. Loki slightly panicked as the boy began to spit out questions, this was his consequence for getting the boy to trust him.

”Um Stephen slow down a bit please?”

”O-oh sorry...”

”It is fine I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”

”So... how do I control my magic?” Stephen looked at him with curious eyes. Loki thought for a bit:

”Well the way I learned is that I made friends with my magic. My magic is like a living being and I treat it as such. The way I came into contact with my magic is that I meditated I’m not sure it will work for you but it is worth the attempt.” Stephen took this in and Loki has to admit his thinking face was adorable. What is he thinking?! Before Loki could start to question his sanity. Stephen closed his eyes, his face becoming relaxed as well as his whole body.

”No way.” Loki bit his tongue on how he sounded so... midgardian. A light orange light enveloped Stephen and began to dance around him, how fascinating... but it soon broke because Stephen gasped and his eyes flung open. Loki wanted to start fussing over the boy but he knew he’d hate that.

”I think my Magic’s mad at me.”

”Do you know why?”

”Maybe... cause I called it a fucking bitch for not helping me when I needed it?” Loki stared at Stephen and Stephen stared back. A loud laughter erupted from Loki something he hadn’t done in centuries. Stephen only stared at him confusingly.

”Why are you laughing? My magic is the one being an asshole.”

that only made Loki laugh harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof


	5. Sorry- authors note

sorry I won’t be continuing this, it’s really hard for me to write when I don’t know the characters on a personal level, also this story was sort of cliche and dull for me.

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t kill me please


End file.
